James H. Lyons C’88

Hall of Fame Inductee – Reunion 2005

It’s possible that Jim Lyons has done more with and for lacrosse than any other Drew graduate.

As a reserve attackman at West Genesee High School, New York, Lyons had already won a state championship. In his college search, he looked for academic excellence, especially in history, and a lacrosse program that had a great staff and was ready to make a move within Division III. His years at Drew still stand as the best four-year stretch in the program’s history.

From 1985 to 1988, Lyons and his classmates compiled a record of 43-18, winning both a MAC East Championship and an ECAC Championship. Lyons was recognized as team MVP and MAC All Star in 1988; the Acorn selected him as their Senior Male Athlete of the Year and the Star Ledger named him College Athlete of the Week, and he ranked 15th in the nation for assists in 1988. Upon graduation, with nominations for two Athletic Department awards, Lyons ranked first in career assists with 99, second in career points (190) and fourth in career goals (91). His records for assists in a season (44) and most games played and started (61) still stand. He was vice president of Varsity “D” in 1988 and was one of two students on the Athletic Advisory Board, as well as serving as a resident assistant in 1987-88.

Lyons earned a master’s in education at Lynchburg College while coaching lacrosse and soccer. After four years as head lacrosse and soccer coach at Potsdam State University in New York, his Drew connections helped him land an assistant position with Princeton University’s six-time Division I National Champion lacrosse team. His appreciation of community life in a smaller school brought him back to Division III, coaching soccer and lacrosse at Goucher College. He returned to his upstate New York roots in 2001 as head lacrosse coach at SUNY Geneseo, and in just four years Lyons has established Geneseo’s program among the elite of Division III lacrosse. He has twice been named coach of the year in the SUNYAC conference, was selected as the Division III national coach of the year in 2004, and was chosen by his peers to coach in the 2004 North/South senior all-star game. He was the first known Drew graduate to become a head college lacrosse coach, and has coached teams from two different schools to winning games against his alma mater.

Lyons treasures his Drew friends and his life in Geneseo. He enjoys combining a busy job and much campus activity with life at home, where he and his wife, Carrie, are raising four children: Tucker (6), Tierney (4), Owen (2½) and Ainsley (1).